Soul on Fire
by Static Prose
Summary: (2 of ?) AU, Modern times--Duo and his friends have meaningless lives, just trying to get by. When Quatre drags Heero Yuy into the group, things change. Whether they want them to or not, things change.
1. Soul on Fire

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Soul on Fire

By Jake (FarTooMasculine)

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Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise Sotsu Agency and Bandai. All chapter titles are taken from songs by the wonderful band HIM. Other songs are littered throughout. I am making no money from this story, and it is purely for entertainment.

Warnings: Rated R for 2x1, 1+R, 3x4, and maybe some other pairings, bad language, graphic violence, drug and alcohol use and abuse, and a lot of other really raunchy things. AU. I'll try my best to keep it as IC as possible.

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We are like the living dead  
Sacrificing all we have  
For a frozen heart and a soul on fire  
We are like the living dead  
Craving for deliverance  
With a frozen heart and a soul on fire

HIM - Soul on Fire

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Duo Maxwell awoke to a faint tapping on his window. He rolled over and checked the little red digits on the alarm clock next to his bed, then rubbed his eyes. It was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon. It took him a few minutes to wake fully and sit himself upright in the bed, all while the tapping became more insistent. He pulled the blanket that doubled for a curtain away from the window. A pair of blue-green eyes hidden under thick golden hair stared at him. He opened the window and stuck his head out, long braid dangling down the side of the trailer.

"The hell you doing, Quatre? You know I work the night shift."

"I know. I just wanted to stop by. Is Trowa here?"

"Yeah. Why don't you go knock on his damn window once in a while?"

"If I did that, I wouldn't get the chance to see your wonderful, smiling face every day."

Duo closed the window and slipped on a dirty black t-shirt and a pair of gray sweat pants. Quatre had gone around to the front door and was knocking on it like a madman. Duo walked out into the living room of the single-wide trailer that he and Trowa shared and kicked open the door, knocking Quatre in the chest. The small blonde wheezed appreciatively and stepped inside.

"Where he at?"

Duo pointed to the hallway that lead to Trowa's room, then settled himself down on the sofa. He reached into a candy dish on the coffee table and took out a bag of weed and his pipe.

"You smokin'?" Quatre asked happily, sitting down next to Duo. "Care to share?"

Duo glared at him, annoyed. "Man, you got more money than the rest of us, college boy. When's the last time you offered to give me some?"

Quatre shrugged. It was true that his father was rich and he was attending a rather expensive college, but it wasn't like he ever got to see any of the money that his father forked over for tuition. He was lucky to come up with enough money to put gas in his car, some weeks. "You know I'm good for it when you're really in need."

"Yeah, whatever." He shoved some of the weed into his pipe and lit up. Trowa came out of his bedroom, wearing a pair of slippers and sweat pants. He raised his eyebrows when he noticed Quatre, giving him a wave.

"What brings you to our neck of the woods?" Trowa asked as he sat down in the recliner, flipping on the television.

"Oh, man, that's right," Quatre started, snatching the pipe from Duo to take a hit, then refusing to hand it back. "I talked to Wufei this morning. He says we should get together this weekend. He got a nice paycheck."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "I met this new guy in my Figure Study class, too. Seems pretty cool. Want me to bring him?" They nodded again.

"He got a name?" Trowa asked, taking the pipe from Quatre. Trowa wasn't much of a smoker, but when Duo engaged in it right out there in the living room, with other people around, he was never one to decline.

"Heero," Quatre said, leaning back on the couch. "Hey, you got beer?"

Duo glanced at Trowa. That was his department. He was the only one among them who was 21. "It's in the fridge." Quatre got up to get one.

He came back in the living room, popping the tab. "Wufei says he wants to go to a damn club or something. I'm so sick of those fucking places."

"If your daddy only knew about your mouth, Quat." Quatre Raberba Winner. His father was one of the richest men on the west coast. He'd raised Quatre to be a prince. He didn't even know the kinds of people his child tended to hang around with. If he did, Duo had realized years ago, he probably would have had an aneurysm, then disowned him. Duo enjoyed teasing him about it.

"I'm an adult. Fuck my daddy."

Trowa cringed. "That's a nasty thought." He flipped through the television channels and settled on Jerry Springer. Then a thought occurred to him. "Why aren't you in school, Quatre?"

Quatre settled himself back down on the sofa, taking another hit from the pipe. "I only have one class on Friday." Trowa nodded. "Why aren't you at work?"

"I lost my job."

Quatre started laughing. He was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. He went to open it. A short girl with purple hair and multiple facial piercings stood on the rickety front steps. "Is Duo here?"

Quatre nodded and stepped out of the way. Duo hid his pipe as she stepped in. "Don't try to hide it, Duo. I know you in here smokin'."

Duo bristled and took the pipe from behind his back, handing it over. "What's up, Hilde?"

"I was just in the neighborhood," she said casually, taking Quatre's seat on the sofa. "Thought I'd come by and see my very good friend Duo." She took a hit from the pipe and kept it. Quatre sat on the arm of the recliner Trowa was occupying.

"How much more shit do I owe, you Hild? I'd be happy to just pay up."

Hilde waved her hand, indifferent. "I think I'd much rather just come over every now and then. Gives me a chance to hang out with you guys."

Trowa snagged Quatre's beer and stole a few chugs of it. "What are you guys talking about?" Quatre asked.

Hilde smiled at him, taking another hit. "Personal business, little man."

"Hilde's a dealer," Duo ground out, snatching his pipe back. "I made the mistake of borrowing from her."

Hilde ruffled his hair playfully. "We're going out this weekend," Quatre told her, taking his beer back from Trowa. He barely caught sight of Duo waving his hand frantically, trying to tell him to shut up. "You wanna go?" Duo slumped in his seat.

Hilde stood up and stretched, her baby doll shirt riding high up on her stomach, revealing a naval piercing and a tattoo. "Yeah, I guess so. Make Duo call me before you guys take off." She waved at them and left through the front door, not closing it all the way. Duo got up, closed the door, locked it, and then peered out the window at her retreating form.

After a moment, he gave Quatre a sidelong glance. "Why'd you have to go and do a thing like that, man?"

"What?" Quatre asked innocently, still not bothering to reclaim his seat on the sofa. Not that he or Trowa seemed to really mind the current seating arrangements.

"I'm pretty sure she's got a thing for me, and the last thing I want to do is spend my free time with her."

Quatre shrugged. "So don't call her."

There was silence for a while. Trowa finally spoke up. "Weren't you supposed to get your bike out of the shop today?"

Duo jumped out of his seat, sending the bag of marijuana flying across the room. "Damn! That's right. Can you give me a ride, Quatre?"

Quatre shrugged and stood up as Duo put the pipe on the table and ran back to his bedroom to get dressed. Trowa stood up. "I'll go with you guys." Quatre gave no objections as he went back to his room, as well. He picked up the discarded pipe and relit it, considering it payment for chauffeuring his friends.

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"Man, let's stop at the store! I got the munchies like crazy."

Quatre pulled into a convenience store. Duo hopped out the back of his friend's jeep and ran inside to get some snacks. Trowa fiddled with the radio, trying to find a good station. "So who's this new guy you were talking about?" he finally asked, flicking off the radio.

Quatre shrugged. "Just some guy in my class. He's new, doesn't have any friends. I thought he might like to hang out with us."

"He cute?" Trowa ventured. He knew Quatre was gay. They all did. What they didn't know, though, was that Trowa had harbored a crush for the blonde for all of two months, and had failed to do anything about it. Being completely uninterested in relationships for your whole life and then suddenly realizing that you're gay and attracted to your friend can cause a bit of apprehension in taking the first step.

Quatre snorted at the question, but actually seemed to consider it. "Kinda short. Not really my type, but I guess so."

Trowa let out a small sigh of relief. Quatre wasn't interested in him that way.

Duo climbed back into the jeep, immediately digging into his plastic bag. "Whatcha got?" Trowa asked, peering into the bag.

Duo handed him a bag of Doritos and pulled out a brownie for himself. Trowa wrestled with the bag as Quatre sped off. "Why was your bike in the shop in the first place, Duo?"

"Transmission's shot," Duo mumbled, spewing a bit of brownie onto Quatre's dashboard. He wiped it off and ate it. "Sorry, man."

"I thought you knew how to work on cars?"

"I do know how to work on cars. Very well. It's bikes that I have some trouble with," he said, finishing the brownie. He let the plastic wrapper fly out the top of the open jeep.

There was silence for a moment until, "What happened to the radio, man?"

Trowa shrugged. "Nothing good on."

Duo squeezed between the seats and stuck in a CD from the case he always brought along when he rode with Quatre, turning the volume up almost full blast, nearly blowing out the speakers. Considering the wind was whistling around them as they sped down the highway at nearly 80 miles per hour, Quatre didn't complain. Duo sat back and put on his sunglasses, deciding to get some sun. Billy Joel was screaming at them from the speakers.

After a while, Quatre pulled onto an off ramp and turned down the radio. Trowa finished his chips. When they pulled into the auto shop, Duo leapt out of the jeep and ran to the office. Quatre reached behind them and rummaged through Duo's bag of snacks for something to eat. He decided on a Snickers bar.

Quatre looked at the sky behind his yellow-tinted sunglasses. "It's a nice day," he commented. Trowa nodded. "We should go to the beach."

After a moment of consideration, Trowa agreed with another nod. "Wanna call Wufei?"

Quatre shook his head. "Nah... he's got class."

They watched Duo inside the shop, signing papers reluctantly. He seemed to be arguing with the man behind the counter over something.

"Could give Heero a call."

Trowa stared at him. "Does he have class?"

"I don't think so. Worth a try, right?"

Trowa shrugged. Quatre pulled out his cel phone and dialed. "Hey, Heero?"

Trowa stood up to stretch his legs, barely listening to Quatre's conversation. "...going to the beach... want me to come pick you up?... meet you there." He heard the beep that signaled the end of the conversation, just as Duo came storming out of the office. He looked pissed.

"That rat bastard Howard!" Duo climbed into the backseat. "I swear, if he didn't give me such a good deal, I'd knock him out."

"Problems, Duo?"

"He hasn't finished working on it yet. He says he'll have it finished tomorrow."

"You get too pissed off over things. It's just one day," Trowa chided as he climbed back into the jeep and shut the door. He looked in the mirror attached to the visor and noticed that Duo was sulking. He couldn't exactly blame him. Duo had been given one of the toughest lives God had ever dished out. Even the little things that were thrown at him, such as a bike you worked hard to afford breaking down, and then having it not finished with repairs within a reasonable amount of time, tended to anger Duo. Trowa wasn't about to give him a lecture about his anger, but he always made sure to make at least one comment, just to let Duo know he was acting like a child. The man was twenty years old now, Trowa rationalized. Despite how hard life had been, twenty years was long enough to have gotten over it.

Quatre shook his head. "Let him be angry if he feels the need to be angry. He's got a right. Wouldn't you be pissed?"

Trowa shrugged, staring out the window. "So what did Heero say?" Duo turned the radio back up.

"Oh!" Quatre gasped. Trowa shook his head. That boy probably couldn't remember his own birthday unless someone reminded him. "He said he'd meet us there. We're going to Coral beach."

They remained relatively silent through the ride, aside from Duo's off-tune singing to the songs on the radio. "Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen. Maciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye!" Duo sang as they pulled onto the beach. He was the only one among them who not only loved Billy Joel, but also knew all of the lyrics to almost all of his songs.  
  
"We didn't start the fire. It was always burning since the world's been turning," they sang together. Trowa merely mouthed the words. "We didn't start the fire. No we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it."

Duo continued singing the song. "Do you guys wanna drive around looking for Heero, or just park somewhere?" Quatre asked, glancing around. It was midday on a Friday. There weren't many children running around, luckily. There were mainly teenage beach bums and a few old people. "I say we drive for a bit. Did you two agree to meet somewhere specific?"

Quatre looked uncaring. "No, not really. Suppose I could call him."

"I want ice cream!" Duo yelled over the music. Trowa and Quatre looked at each other.

"You could tell him to meet us at Meilan's."

Quatre put the car in reverse and pulled back onto the road, heading towards the ice cream parlor. "I'm gonna get a triple scoop of double fudge," Duo mumbled as Quatre turned down the radio a bit. He pulled out his cel phone again and called Heero.

"We're going to Meilan's. Meilan's!" He turned down the radio a bit more. "Meilan's. It's an ice cream parlor. On the boardwalk. Alright, we'll meet you there. Five minutes? Cool."

Duo stuck his head between the seats. "Heero's meeting us there?" Quatre nodded. "He's not a jerk, is he?"

Quatre shook his head. Then his shoulders slumped. "He's not exactly very social though. So be nice, Duo. He just moved here."

"Where's he from?"

"I don't know. Haven't asked him."

"What do you mean he's not very social?"

Trowa sighed. "Why do you have to ask so many questions? Just wait 'til you meet him." Quatre looked thankful at Trowa's distraction. Once Duo got on a topic, it was rather hard to get him off of it.

They pulled into a parking space at Meilan's and went inside. Meilan smiled pleasantly at them, wiping her hands on her apron and standing up. Business was slow until around 3, when school got out and the kids came to the beach. "Well, if it isn't the three stooges."

"How are you doing, Meilan?"

"Perfectly fine, Duo." Meilan was a short chinese woman. She wore her black hair in pigtails. She was also Wufei's tentative girlfriend, though neither could easily admit to it. They may have respected the hell out of each other for certain talents and strengths, but they tended to butt heads more than one would care to see. Meilan liked the oldies, and The Foundations were currently singing "Build me up Buttercup" through the speakers set up around the store.

Duo plastered his face on the glass over the ice cream. "What can I get for you guys?" Meilan asked.

"Triple scoop double fudge," Duo said, nearly drooling. Quatre got a single vanilla and Trowa got a strawberry milkshake. They took their usual seats in the far corner of the shop.

Duo stared out the window, licking his ice cream. A few minutes later, the cowbell attached to the door jingled loudly. A short, brown-haired young man came through, kicking a skateboard up into his hand. Quatre sat up excitedly. "Oh, there he is!"

Heero turned to Quatre and gave a nod of his head before walking over, skateboard at his hip. Duo glanced at him. He wore a pair of cut-off khaki shorts, a baggy t-shirt, and sandals. He also had a hemp necklace around his neck. Duo smiled and stood up.

It wasn't until they were right next to each other that Duo noticed the height difference. Looking at Heero from a distance, one would imagine that he was just a regular guy, broad-shouldered and muscular. Standing next to him, Duo realized that he was at least three inches shorter (meaning that he was rather small, given that Duo wasn't tall, himself), with thin shoulders and thin arms, though not exactly lacking muscles. Duo shook his hand in a formal greeting that didn't really fit the circumstances. "You're Heero?" The boy nodded. "I'm Duo. That's Trowa. And you know Quatre."

He sat back down. Heero pulled up a chair, turned it around backwards, and straddled it, still holding on to his skateboard. Trowa nodded at him, chewing on the straw of his milkshake.

"So, Heero," Quatre started, forgetting about his ice cream for the moment. "I haven't had a chance to ask you... where are you from?"

Heero lowered his eyes and picked at stickers on his skateboard. Duo stared at them, noting that they all seemed to be the names of rock bands. "Small town outside of Jacksonville," Heero said quietly.

"Jacksonville? Where's that?" Quatre knew by now that he had to prod Heero to speak at every opportunity, just to keep a conversation going. He certainly hoped that the brunette would eventually open up to them.

"S'in Florida."

Duo smirked. "Oh, we got a little southerner on our hands."

Heero raised his eyes. "Florida is in the south, but most of it isn't really 'southern'."

Duo's smirk widened at the hint of an accent. Especially on the word "southern." He looked over at Heero, meeting his eyes. Heero looked away. In that small moment, Duo had caught sight of some of the deepest blue irises he'd ever seen. Unknown to Duo, Heero was thinking similar thoughts about Duo's eyes, how strange a color of bluish-purple they had seemed.

"Why did you move here?"

Heero looked suddenly nervous, fingers tightening on the skateboard. "To go to school. I'm gonna go get some ice cream," he said quickly as he stood up and walked to the counter.

Duo raised an eyebrow. "You're right about him being anti-social. He looks like he's scared we'll attack him any minute."

"I'm sure he just needs to warm up to us. He's probably nervous about being in such a new place," Quatre ventured. Trowa nodded silently.

Heero, standing at the counter scanning the assorted ice cream flavors, heard their conversation. At their words, he sunk lower into his shoulders, feeling horrid. He wasn't scared of them. He wasn't nervous about being in a new place. He just knew that making friends, in the long run, wouldn't be good for him. In fact, it could be downright dangerous, as he'd learned in the previous town.

"Try the double fudge, Heero!" Duo shouted. Not that shouting was necessary. The shop was fairly small and quiet.

Heero didn't respond, but pointed at the double fudge through the glass. He got a single scoop on a sugar cone and returned to the table. He set his skateboard down on the floor, resumed his seat, and put his feet on the board, rolling it back and forth distractedly.

"How long have you been skateboarding, Heero?" Quatre asked, nearly done with his ice cream.

"About three years," Heero answered plainly, tasting his ice cream. He decided quickly that it was a bit too rich for his tastes, but noticed that Duo was enjoying his.

Trowa slurped noisily on the last of his milkshake.

"Can you do tricks?" Duo asked, seeming interested.

Heero leaned back a bit. No one had ever really seemed interested in him before. Or his hobbies. "Um... a few. Yeah."

Duo stood up. "Come show me some," he said excitedly, grabbing Heero's upper arm to try and pull him to his feet. The boy jerked his arm out of his grasp and stood up, taking a step away. Duo raised his eyebrows at the reaction, but noticed that he didn't exactly seem angry. He made a mental note to keep touching to a minimum.

Heero stomped on the nose of his skateboard and grabbed it with his free hand, then turned to walk out of the shop. "You guys coming?" Duo asked. The others stood to follow him. Heero waited outside, standing on his skateboard, ice cream still in hand. The wheels creaked as he leaned back and forth. He was looking around, finding elements of the landscape that could be used to show what he could do.

Trowa, Duo, and Quatre sat down on a bench outside of the ice cream shop. Quatre was eating what was left of his ice cream cone. Duo was down to his third scoop, and it was steadily melting down his hand, now that they were outside in the heat.

Heero gave them a glance, then put a foot on the ground and started moving. The others watched absently. Duo was waiting for the moment that Heero's ice cream would fall to the ground in a useless heap.

Heero skated out into the road, then turned around and came back. He jumped up on a curb, sliding the underside of the skateboard on it. He continued on for a bit, then went back up onto the curb, leaning forward. Only the front wheels touched the concrete. He landed back on the road.

They all watched while Heero did more tricks. Trowa and Quatre started clapping after each one. Duo was disappointed when he realized that Heero was finished and returning to them. His ice cream was still in his hand. He watched the thin form leaning on the skateboard, hands at his sides.

Heero stopped in front of Duo and glanced down at his hand, which was covered in drying chocolate. "Do you want this?" he asked, holding out the ice cream. Duo took it with a shrug. "I'm not a big fan of chocolate." He stepped off the skateboard and leaned against the wall beside them.

"That was pretty impressive, Heero," Quatre said pleasantly, leaning forward to look at him around Duo. Heero lowered his head and shrugged. "Duo rollerblades."

Duo snorted. "Yeah, to get somewhere faster than walking." He looked up at Heero. "I don't do any tricks. Except I can jump over things without falling on my face like a retard. Even that took quite a bit of practice, though."

Heero glanced at him and nodded. Quatre checked his watch as if it mattered what time it was. "Do you guys wanna go down to the beach, or go home or what?"

Trowa shrugged. He never really cared either way what they did. And now that he didn't have a job and didn't have anywhere to be, there was no reason to be anywhere specific.

Duo glanced around. It was around four o'clock, he estimated. "I think we should get home." Heero stepped onto his skateboard, prepared to take off. "You wanna come?"

Heero glanced up when he realized that Duo was addressing him. He tried to think if there was anything better for him to do, some way to get out of going over there. He could think of nothing, and shrugged indifferently.

They all stood up and walked back to Quatre's car. Heero skated the short distance. Duo climbed in the back, and he hesitantly climbed in behind him. Quatre started the car and Billy Joel began screaming again.

"Only the good die young," Duo sang, reaching forward to turn the radio on. Heero pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on. He crossed his arms and leaned back, trying to pretend he was asleep. "You like Billy Joel?" Duo screamed over the music. Heero peered at him from behind the sunglasses and nodded slightly.

Duo smiled. "Hell yeah!" He leaned forward. "We got another Billy Joel fan back here!" Trowa and Quatre rolled their eyes.

They flew down the highway, the needle on the speedometer barely touching the 90 mile per hour mark. Duo wondered how in the hell Quatre had never received a speeding ticket. It must have been luck because he himself always seemed to get them.

When they returned to their house, Duo went inside first and immediately began crawling around on the floor, looking for his bag of weed. Heero stepped inside last and hovered around the door. The television was on. He could hear cars flying by on the road in front of the trailer. Trowa went to the fridge. "Who wants beer?"

Quatre, sitting Duo's bag of goodies down on the coffee table, raised his hand. Duo raised his hand. Trowa stared at Heero. "Want one?" Heero shrugged and leaned his skateboard against a wall. Trowa passed out the beers. Duo finally found his bag of weed and picked up his pipe to clean the ashes out.

Heero sat on the arm of the couch. Duo stared at him. "You smoke?" Heero shrugged. Duo smirked. "Judging by that necklace, I'd say you do."

Heero grabbed the necklace and put it under his shirt. Duo laughed, and he couldn't help but smirk just a bit, hearing the carefree sound. Trowa was flipping through the channels again when Duo finally finished refilling his pipe. He lit it and took a hit. Heero rubbed his nose as the familiar scent permeated the air.

As Duo handed it to him, he wondered if it was exactly an intelligent thing to do, smoking with them. He'd been clean of drugs for months. He worried that he might fall back into the habit, especially around people who seemed to do it every day. He stared down at the pipe, embers still glowing a bit, and let out a sigh. There was no helping it, really. He had it in his hand. He may as well. He raised the pipe to his lips, lit it, and inhaled.

They sat around for a few hours, smoking weed. They finally stopped when each of them realized that they could not take any more. Each hit caused them to break into coughing fits.

Heero sipped his beer, leaning back against the couch and feeling incredibly relaxed. Duo had settled himself beside him, next to Quatre. Trowa was in the recliner, flipping through the television channels again.

"Fuck it, Trowa!" Duo finally yelled, leaning forward. "We've got seven channels, man! Seven! You must have gone through them a hundred times already!"

Trowa stared at him and put the remote control on the table. Quatre started laughing and patted Trowa on the shoulder. Duo glanced at the clock on the wall. "...did Wufei say he wanted to go out tonight? Or tomorrow night?"

"I don't know," Quatre answered, turning from Trowa. "He just said this weekend."

Duo shrugged. "Gimme your phone, Q." Quatre handed it over. Duo dialed the number and waited for him to answer. "Wufei!" he screamed.

Heero stared at him, listening to the tinny voice on the other end start screaming back.

"Okay, man, calm down. I won't yell no more." There was silence for a moment and then, "Did you wanna go out tonight? If so, we need to get going. Yes, I'm high, you shit head."

They all heard Wufei start screaming again.

"Alright, alright," Duo said placatingly, "I won't call you a shit head again. So are we going?" Duo nodded. "Where you wanna go?"

"Tell him no clubs!" Quatre yelled, his voice raising an octave higher than usual.

"Quatre says no clubs." Duo looked over at the blonde. "He says he wants to go to a pool hall. That cool?" Quatre nodded. "Alright. We'll meet you there in thirty." Duo hung up the phone and handed it back to Quatre as he stood up. "I don't want to go there stinking to high heaven of weed. I suggest you little craps take my advice and change your clothes." Duo headed to his room.

Heero stared after him. "I guess I should get going, then?"

Quatre waved his hand. "No way. You can go with us. Just go get some clothes from Duo."

Heero looked reluctant, but stood up anyway. He heard Quatre ask Trowa if he could borrow some clothes as he walked to Duo's room. He knocked on the door, which was only halfway closed. Looking in, he watched Duo slip on a pair of black jeans. He wasn't wearing underwear.

"Quatre told me to borrow some clothes so I can go with you guys," Heero said quietly. Duo turned around as if he'd been startled by the voice. He picked up a shirt off the floor.

"Oh," he said, slipping the black t-shirt on. "Just dig around on the floor for something your size." Duo snorted and sat down on the bed to put on his shoes. Heero picked up a random t-shirt and a pair of pants, noted that Duo was going to be a while putting his boots back on, and went down the hall to the bathroom to change.

When Heero went out to the living room, they were all standing around waiting for him. Heero pulled on his–Duo's–shirt a bit and grabbed his skateboard. He had his own clothes in his hand.

Duo stared at the clothes. "Man... we're probably not gonna be back 'til pretty damn late. If you want, you can crash here."

Heero's eyes darted back and forth. "Isn't Quatre going home tonight?" He looked at Quatre. "You could give me a ride, couldn't you?"

Quatre smiled. "Nope. Sorry. I crash here on the weekends."

"Oh." Heero's shoulders slumped, but he tossed his clothes onto the couch. "Okay. I guess I can stay here tonight."

They left the trailer, not bothering to lock the door behind them, and climbed into Quatre's jeep. "Where are we going?" he asked, putting the car into reverse to back out onto the street.

"Golden Q," Duo answered, putting his hands behind his head. Heero crossed his arms over his chest and watched the scenery fly by. It was a while before he realized that Duo was staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He finally turned to look at the long-haired young man. Duo smirked at him. "What is it with you?" he asked casually.

Heero paled. Luckily, it was dark and Duo didn't notice. "What do you mean?"

"Why don't you talk much?"

Heero breathed a sigh of relief, realizing what Duo was talking about. "I just... don't have much to talk about. I'm a boring person."


	2. Sweet Pandemonium

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Soul on Fire

By Jake (FarTooMasculine)

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Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise Sotsu Agency and Bandai. All chapter titles are taken from songs by the wonderful band HIM. Other songs are littered throughout. I am making no money from this story, and it is purely for entertainment.

Warnings: Rated R for 2x1, 1+R, 3x4, and maybe some other pairings, bad language, graphic violence, drug and alcohol use and abuse, and a lot of other really raunchy things. AU. I'll try my best to keep it as IC as possible.

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The truth that could set souls free

Is buried within sweet pandemonium

Concealed by disbelief

The riddle stays veiled in sweet pandemonium

HIM - Sweet Pandemonium

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They pulled into the parking lot of the Golden Q. Duo was the first one out of the jeep, as usual, Quatre and Trowa not far behind. Heero stood up and hesitated, suddenly uncertain. He'd made a promise to himself the first day he'd arrived in this town that he would not make friends. Maybe acquaintances, but not friends. His current actions, he knew, were teetering on the precipice of friendship. He was about to break his promise.

Duo ran over to his side of the jeep and climbed up onto the tire, peering down at him. "You gonna sit there all night, or are you coming in?" he asked, swaying back and forth. Heero realized that he was very drunk. Or very high. Or both.

"I can't play pool very well," he lied, making up an excuse for his reluctance.

Duo shrugged. "I'll learn ya how," he said with a thick, teasing southern accent. Heero glared and climbed out of the jeep.

They walked inside and met up with Wufei, who had already gotten a table and was playing a practice game alone. "No fair!" shouted Duo, patting him on the shoulder before continuing to the bar for a drink. He may not have been 21, but Duo knew the owner, and the owner let him buy beers, because the owner was well aware that steady customers were always a good thing. That, and underage kids were usually the ones that bought the most drinks. "If Wu gets a practice game, we all do," he finished over his shoulder.

"I'll be damned if I'm paying for a table while you morons chase your balls around!" he yelled back over the music before turning to the others. "Who's this?" Wufei asked, inclining his head in Heero's direction.

"Heero. He's from my Figure Study class." Heero gave him a nod, sitting down on a stool.

"I haven't seen you around yet. You live in the dorms?" Heero shook his head.

"He's pretty new," Quatre informed him. "Just transferred in this week."

Wufei gave a nod of understanding and went back to his practice game. Duo returned with five beers and passed them out, then went to search for the perfect pool stick. Quatre and Trowa grabbed random ones from the rack beside them. "What're we playing?" Quatre asked, chalking up his stick and then setting it against the wall, forgetting about it.

Wufei sunk his last shot and went around the table, reaching into the pockets to retrieve the balls. "I would say teams, but we've got an odd man out."

"I can just watch," Heero commented.

"No way!" Duo shouted, returning with his 'perfect stick.' "Let's me and Heero play one on one so I can teach him." He took over Wufei's job of collecting the balls. "Heero, you rack," he said, rolling them to the end of the table. Heero collected them in the triangle, set them up, and stepped back to the wall to grab a pool stick and chalk it up. Duo broke without hesitation, scattering the heavy orbs all over the table. None of them went in. He started to examine his pool stick, as if it was the fault of the piece of wood that he hadn't sunk any.

Heero took a shot, sending the two ball into a corner pocket. He then got the four in a side pocket, and the cue ball kept going, hitting the six into a corner. Duo gaped. "I thought you said you couldn't play?"

Heero straightened from the shot he was lining up and glanced at Duo blankly, realizing what he'd done. "Must be beginner's luck," he mumbled before taking a shot, which he missed completely.

Duo shook his head and lined up a shot. Heero saw the boy's eyebrows drawing down sharply, mouth setting itself into a grim line of determination. He watched Duo plant his feet firmly apart and lean down low against the table. Heero realized just how serious Duo was about pool, and quickly decided to throw the game. Duo made in two shots before scratching the ball. Heero purposely missed. He saw Duo stare at him strangely from across the table.

"So what are you majoring in, Heero?" Quatre asked him off-handedly.

"I don't really know," Heero mumbled. "I just like photography." He took a sip of his beer and tried to ignore Duo's eyes boring into him as he faked lining up shots.

Quatre and Trowa nodded silently. Duo missed his shot, then walked over to the group. Heero took a step back, leaning against the wall and trying to act casual. "Why don't you guys go get some more beers?" he suggested to them casually. He was smiling. Heero realized it was strained.

Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei went to the bar, exchanging looks. Duo slowly glanced over at Heero, who pressed himself into the wall a bit more.

"You wanna tell me what this is all about?" he asked, eyebrows lowered in that all-too-common look of anger. Heero had seen that look enough to recognize it a mile away.

He glanced over at the other three, who carefully kept their eyes averted. "What do you mean?"

Duo crossed his arms. "Why are you throwing the game? Just from those first two shots, I can tell you're good."

Heero looked down at his ratty shoelaces and shrugged.

"I'm not gonna get mad if you beat me, man." Heero hesitantly looked back up at him. The anger was gone from his eyes, as if it had never been there. "We're real nice guys, Heero. Real accepting. Don't be so uptight around us."

Heero looked away. After a moment, he nodded and took another sip of his beer. He could feel his promise slowly breaking away. Honestly, he wanted to be just a normal guy. Or at least appear to be one. Making promises that excluded him from such acts hadn't been a good idea to begin with. Duo punched him in the shoulder playfully and he smirked, looking back at him.

"Now come beat my ass at this game. If you don't start sinking some shots, it could go on for hours." Heero nodded and walked up to the table to line up his shot. By the time the others realized that the talk was finished and returned, the game was over, with Heero the unquestionable victor. Duo made a show of shaking Heero's hand in front of the others, just to show that he was a good sport. Heero stared at their interlocked hands, noting the size difference. He felt suddenly sick.

Wufei was giving them a sardonic grin. "Finally, someone who can really kick Duo's ass. It's about time." Duo rolled his eyes. He couldn't help it if he was better than them. Especially considering they were terrible. He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a few bills, quickly counting them out.

He glanced up at Heero. "Let them fart around for a while. Let's go play some tunes," he said, nodding towards the jukebox. Heero followed his line of sight and nodded. They walked over, leaving the others behind.

Quatre turned to Trowa. "I think he's fitting in well."

"Still kind of quiet," Trowa commented idly, peeling the label from his new beer.

Quatre gave him a look. "When I first met you, you were even worse, Trowa."

"I know," Trowa said, shrugging.

Quatre looked thoughtful for a moment. Wufei was racking up the balls, about to start another practice game. "I can't shake this feeling, though, that there's something about him," Quatre began. Trowa stared at him, feeling his chest clench up.

"What do you mean?" he prodded, doing his best not to sound suspicious. Or jealous.

"I don't know yet. There's just something... off." He looked over at Heero, who was pointing to one of the songs through the glass on the jukebox. He punched in the numbers for the song and Billy Joel belted out music through the speakers. "Darling, I don't know why I go to extremes," he sang loudly.

Trowa spared a glance at the two of them, one eyebrow raising. He knew that Quatre was overly sensitive to other peoples' emotions, easily understanding just about anything that was on their mind. He, himself, though, had none such talents. Other peoples' emotions and actions tended to confuse him more often than not. Even his own emotions confused him, sometimes. "Off, how?"

"Like he's hiding something," Quatre said slowly. "He seems like he's got something on his mind all the time. Like he's angry and doing his best to keep it hidden." He shook his head, trying to push the thoughts aside. Standing, he grabbed his pool stick and approached the table. "Cut-throat?" he asked Wufei, who shrugged in response. Just as long as he got to play, Wufei never cared what he played.

They started their game. Heero and Duo eventually returned, taking seats on the stools in the corner. Heero picked at the label on his beer and stared at the floor. Duo was staring at him again.

Heero sighed and glanced up at him. "What now?"

Duo held up his hands in defense. "Did I say anything?"

"You're staring."

"Yeah," Duo admitted sheepishly, shrugging. He didn't even know why, but he was staring. Maybe there was something about the way Heero's lips seemed to pout whenever he had his head lowered, looking at the floor.

Heero gathered up his nerve. "Why is your hair so long?" he asked quietly.

Duo smirked at him. "That's privileged info. I'll tell you when you're older." Heero rolled his eyes at the answer. He felt a bit put-off, having finally gotten up the courage to engage in conversation, and then be shot down. Duo noticed his eyes travel back to the floor. "That's like me asking you why your hair is so short," he ventured, trying to retain his attention. "It just is." Heero accepted the explanation with a shrug.

They watched the other three play their game. Badly. "What other kinds of music do you like, Heero?"

"Almost everything," he said casually, leaning back against the wall before taking another drink. He was beginning to feel tired and casually looked at his watch. It wasn't late. He realized it must have been all the beer. And weed. At that thought, he lowered his head, regretting his earlier actions. He would never have admitted it to anyone, but he'd had a drug problem, once. There were so many things going on in his world, all at once, and he'd found his escape, however harmful it may have been. He'd gotten into some trouble with them. He'd gotten into some trouble with the friends he'd had, as well. He was thankful to whatever God there may have been that he was able to move away from it all.

"So tell me about your goddamn life," Duo said, leaning back against the wall, mimicking Heero.

The other boy glanced at him, then went back to watching the game. "There isn't much to tell," he lied.

Duo flicked his hand at him. "Psh. There's always something to tell. Give me some juicy details."

"That's privileged info," Heero said sarcastically, the barest hint of a smirk on his face. "I'll tell you when you're older."

Duo laughed. "Come on, man. Everyone's got something in their life that they want to talk about."

Heero turned his head to glare at him. "_I_ don't want to talk about it." Duo knew immediately that he should drop the subject. He quietly turned back to the game, nearly shivering at the look in Heero's eye.

"Just asking a damn question," Duo muttered, crossing his arms over his chest to sulk. "No need to get so pissy about it." Heero ignored him. "It's not like I asked you to streak through the room or nothing... just wondering. That's what friends do. They inquire about what's on your mind. Maybe if you even had friends, you'd–"

"Will you shut up!?" Heero bellowed, nearly standing up from his seat. Everyone around them turned to stare. He quickly looked around, feeling paranoid. Everyone was staring at him.

Duo gave him a strange look, not incredibly surprised that he'd been yelled at, as it was his intention. Heero stiffly stood up and walked to the bar for another drink. Billy Joel continued to sing. Everyone went back to their games.

After a moment, Quatre slipped over to Duo, looking worried. "What the hell was that all about?"

Duo shrugged. "Guy stuff. You wouldn't understand." Quatre gave him a fierce look. Duo sighed. "Just me trying to get him to talk. Forget about it." Quatre remained silently at his side until his turn came around again, then went back to the game. He and Trowa were teaming up against Wufei, doing their best to get him out of the game.

Duo eventually stood up and walked to the bar. Heero had settled himself down and seemed intent on staying there until the evening was over. He didn't even acknowledge Duo's approach.

"So, handsome, can I buy you a beer?"

Heero looked at him with a sneer. He was grinning like a madman, leaning against the bar and trying to look cool. To Heero, he just looked like an idiot with a braid. "No thanks," he answered monotonously, playing along with the stupid game Duo was starting. "I've already got one."

"Pity." Duo sat down in the seat next to him and put some money on the counter. The bartender, Carl, brought him another beer. "So what's a good-looking guy like you doing hanging out in a dump like this?"

Heero leaned against the bar, still staring at Duo with that minuscule sneer tainting his lips. "What are you doing? Practicing your come-ons?" Duo shrugged in response. "They suck," he spat, taking another sip of beer.

"Hey now... don't diss my come-ons. They work well when I want 'em to."

Heero gave him a strange look. "You mean to tell me girls actually fall for that stupid shit?"

Duo shrugged again. After a moment of silence, he looked directly at Heero. He actually looked serious. It surprised Heero. "I really wish I knew what was up with you," he commented, leaning in a bit. Heero simply stared, not willing to give a response. "I mean, why are you so angry about everything?"

"You've only known me for a day. You don't know that I'm angry about everything."

"I like to think I'm pretty good at reading people," Duo ventured.

"I don't think you are," Heero spat. Then he realized that Duo was right; that he was giving off an aura of anger and general contempt. He willfully calmed himself. Duo noticed.

"You keep acting like you hate me, Heero, I'm not going to bother to hang around with you," Duo warned. "There's no reason to keep trying if you've made up your mind about me."

"It's not you," Heero quietly admitted.

"Then stop acting like it is," Duo said, crossing his arms. Heero noted just how childish he looked, doing that.

He hesitated for a moment. "Sorry."

Duo grinned. "Alright then! Let's get back to the others because, to be honest, you're a total bore!"

Heero smirked, standing up. They took their beers back over to the table and returned to watching the game. One hour and four rounds of beer later, the game was finally over. Duo and Heero were bored out of their minds by that time, and had started playing rock-paper-scissors. They were surprised to learn that Quatre had won the pool game. Duo gave him a high five and the blonde shrugged humbly.

Wufei checked his watch and started walking around the table, gathering up the balls and putting them in their tray to return them. "It's nearly one o'clock," he stated. No one made a move to help him.

Duo stood up to stretch languidly. "Yeah, I guess we should get going. I did, after all, get woke up way too early today." He shot an evil look at Quatre, who had the sense of mind to appear sheepish and ashamed.

Everyone quickly finished off their beers and stumbled outside. They were all starting to come down from the weed, but had gotten drunk to counteract the feeling. "You sure you're okay to drive, Quatre?" Trowa asked, climbing into the passenger seat of the Jeep Wrangler.

Quatre nearly tripped on his own two feet, getting into the car. "Of course I'm okay! How many times have I driven home drunk?"

Trowa couldn't recall. He kept quiet. Duo, however, did not. "I'll drive!" he yelled, squeezing between the seats and nearly piling himself onto Heero's lap. He held out his hand. "Gimme the keys." All three of them stared, knowing better. Duo eventually gave up, but didn't bother to move.

Wufei came out of the pool hall and walked over to the car. "With all the beer, the total came to $30.25," he told them.

Duo peered up at Heero. "We usually split the bill when we go hang out," he explained, finally straightening up. Everyone pulled out a five dollar bill and handed it over to Wufei, who nodded. It was good enough.

"You wanna come hang out, Wu?" Duo asked, leaning out the side of the jeep like a rag doll. "We got video games."

"And pot, I'd assume," Wufei said distastefully. "No thanks. You know I stay away from that stuff."

Duo waved a hand at him. "You just got a stick up your ass, is all."

"He can't help it if he's serious about his studies and doesn't want to taint his mind," Quatre retorted.

"Unlike you."

Quatre laughed just a bit and started up the car. They all waved goodbye to Wufei, who went walking to his car.

Quatre backed out of the space slowly, turning around in the seat to see. Unfortunately, he didn't see the small concrete cylinder with red reflectors on it. He hit it. Everyone's mouth fell open. "Holy shit! My father's going to kill me!" He moved the car forward a bit, put it in park, and ran around to inspect the damage. Duo and Heero hung out the back to look. There was a very small dent on the fender with a few scratches around it.

"It's not that bad," Heero commented. "Probably wouldn't even notice it."

"Yeah, this crappy car has enough dents anyway," he said, kicking it lightly. "A new one won't make a difference."

"At least you have a car," Duo commented, oozing back to the proper seated position.

Quatre climbed back in the jeep and backed out, carefully avoiding the invisible hazard. He didn't know why they put those things there, anyway. They were so low you couldn't see them, even if you were looking out for them. Even if you were sober.

They sped home, yet again. Trowa kept an eye on the speedometer. Each time it reached 80, he had to remind Quatre to slow down.

Billy Joel was still singing. When they pulled in front of the trailer, Duo slung himself between the seats again to grab his CD.

When they got inside, Duo laid down on the sofa. Heero went back to leaning against the wall. "Let's see," Duo mumbled, face mushed into the ratty yellow throw pillow. "Where you guys wanna sleep?"

"I guess Quatre could sleep with me again," Trowa ventured.

Quatre gratefully accepted and went to the bedroom. He liked Trowa's bed. It was comfortable and soft. And it always smelled like the tall man's brunette hair.

Duo slid off the sofa like a snake, then slowly stood up. "Guess you're with me then, buddy," he said, heading to his room.

"But... the couch?" Heero asked blankly, pointing to it.

Duo stopped at the fridge and grabbed another beer for himself and Heero. "Oh, I wouldn't recommend that. The springs are hell on your back." Duo knew that for a fact. He'd passed out on it himself, many a-time, and always woke up feeling like he'd been sleeping on rocks and broken glass. He wouldn't wish that couch on his worst enemy. Duo popped the tab on his own beer, and tossed Heero his own.

Heero caught the beer and reluctantly followed Duo to his room. The bed was what looked like a queen-sized mattress sitting directly on the floor. "At least," Heero thought, "if I roll off the bed, I won't fall too far." The whole floor was covered with clothes and books and magazines. "And I probably won't be too uncomfortable," he mentally added. Duo was stripping down. Heero quickly averted his eyes. "You're not going to sleep like that, are you?" he asked, voice panicked.

Duo glanced down at his naked body, then quickly grabbed a pair of sweat pants and put them on. "Normally, I would," he said, snapping the elastic waistband against his stomach. "But even I have some consideration when there's company over." Heero breathed a sigh of relief. Duo walked on the bed, over to the corner, then sat down and leaned against the wall. He tossed his CD case at Heero. "Do me a favor and put something in the player," he said casually before drinking about half of his beer in one go. 

Heero found the stereo under a few shirts and searched through Duo's CD's. Most of them were Billy Joel. He found a Stabbing Westward CD and put it in, then went to the bed and sat down next to Duo.

The dark strains of the lead guitar filtered through their ears. "You like them?" Duo asked. 

"They're okay," Heero said and did his best to finish his beer, so that he could go to sleep.

Duo stifled a yawn. "So tell me about your goddamn life," he said.

"Are you going to keep asking me that until I tell you?"

"Probably. I'm a persistent little bastard."

"Privileged info," Heero said dryly.

"Are you hiding something, or do you just not like to talk about yourself?" Duo asked before finishing his beer. He tossed it into the corner of the room. Heero noted that there were quite a few empty beer cans lying around.

"A little bit of both," he answered, finishing off his own drink.

"Ooh, you shouldn't have told me that. Now I'll be even more persistent. Can't hide stuff from me," Duo said, sliding down on the bed and curling up on his side. "Hit the lamp, will ya?"

Heero reached up to the lamp, sitting on the bedside table, and turned it off before laying down, himself. He tried to inconspicuously move as far away from Duo as possible, while still remaining on the bed.

Heero lay with his eyes open, staring at the wall. Every few minutes, a car would drive by on the highway right outside of Duo's window.

Duo squirmed in the bed, trying to get comfortable. "I'm hungry," he mumbled.

"What did you eat today?" Heero asked, too tired to really put much thought into whether or not he should act as if he were asleep.

"A brownie and some chips. And something else."

Heero scoffed. "No wonder you're so skinny."

"I'm not that skinny. You're skinnier." Heero shrugged the shoulder he wasn't laying on. "Hey, where do you live, anyway?" Duo could practically hear the muscles in Heero's body tighten at the question.

"With my parents, at the moment."

"You don't like them, or something?"

"No," Heero ground out through clenched teeth. "Can we not talk about this?"

Duo rolled over to face Heero's back. "What do you want to talk about, then?"

"Nothing," he answered testily. "I just want to go to sleep."

Duo rolled onto his back and put his arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. Heero closed his eyes to block them out. Sometime, in between thinking about his parents and thinking about Duo, he fell asleep.

When he awoke, Duo was snoring softly beside him. The room had a dim, gray light and the air smelled of rain. He pulled back the blanket covering the window and realized that it had rained the night before. The window was fogged up slightly. He saw the blurred shapes of cars driving by outside, their headlights on. The CD in the player had stopped long ago, the little green digital word on the display blinking on and off, "Good-bye. Good-bye."

Heero felt strangely alone. He almost wished Duo would wake up and start talking again. He stood up and straightened out the clothes he'd borrowed from Duo. They were horribly wrinkled. He walked to the living room and curled up on a corner of the sofa, using the armrest as a pillow.

Cars drove by, sounding like hissing snakes. Heero stared out the windows across the room, watching raindrops fall off of trees through the blurred glass. His eyes slowly traveled down to the bag of marijuana sitting on the table.

Without even thinking about it, he picked up the bag and Duo's pipe. His hands sped through the motions of cleaning out the pipe and packing in the fresh weed. His mind stayed locked in a state of ignorance, until he realized what he was doing. He felt disbelief and then decided not to care.

He turned the Bic lighter over in his hand, stuck the pipe to his lips, and lit up.

Within a few minutes, the world went away. His parents went away. His anger went away. His loneliness went away.

By the time Quatre had woken up, he was sprawled out on the couch. The pipe was cashed, sitting on the table beside him. The blonde stared at him suspiciously, sniffing the air.

"You were smoking Duo's weed?"

Heero didn't bother to answer. He simply stared out the window at the raindrops, still falling off of trees. For a moment, he thought he could actually hear them speed through the air and hit the ground. He wondered what it felt like, to shatter like a drop of water.

"He doesn't like that, unless he's around." Quatre went to the fridge and got the jug of orange juice, not bothering with a glass. He pushed Heero's feet out of the way and sat down. The brunette sat up slowly, mind and body dragging. Quatre drank some of the juice, then handed it over. Heero chugged it, parched.

"It rained last night," Heero finally said, pointing out the window. "Your jeep probably got soaked."

Quatre sighed loudly, swore, and stood up to go to the bathroom for towels. He walked back into the living room and gave Heero an annoyed look. "Would you mind helping me?"

Heero shrugged and got off the couch, following Quatre out to the car. The blonde opened the car door and peered inside before stepping back, hands on his hips in irritation. "Damn open-top jeeps. They're so stupid."

"Why don't you just keep the cover on it?" Heero ventured, taking some of the towels from Quatre and climbing inside. He started to cover the seats with them.

"Because then I'd have to worry about taking it on and off all the time. Besides, it's not like it rains all that much, here." Quatre climbed inside, trying to soak up some of the water in the front seat.

They worked in a comfortable silence, pressing on the seats and standing on the towels covering the floorboards, trying to get out as much of the water as they could. "So what do you think of everyone?" Quatre asked at length.

"They're alright," Heero answered plainly. His mind was slightly occupied, wondering how much money he had in his pocket at the moment and whether or not Duo would be willing to get him some weed. "You got a thing for Trowa?"

Quatre stood up, hitting his head on one of the bars. Heero looked up, eyes wide, when he heard the solid sound of bone against plastic. Quatre rubbed his head. "What are you talking about?"

Heero shook his head. "Oh, I didn't mean anything by it... I just kind of thought you were... you know..." he trailed off, returning to his work.

Quatre sat down in the driver's seat, grabbing the steering wheel. He felt the water soaking through his borrowed pants. He didn't even care that they were quite a bit too long for him. He always borrowed Trowa's clothes when a spare pair was needed. "I am... you know..."

Heero turned his head to look at him. Then he looked away. He didn't want to stare. "Oh."

"But that doesn't mean I like Trowa or anything. He's not that way, as far as I know."

Heero shrugged. He didn't really care about any of it–gay, straight, bi, whatever–and he didn't care whether or not two people he knew jumped in bed together. He was asking out of pure curiosity. "Well, if I could pick it up from you... maybe I'm not wrong about Trowa," he ventured, still concentrating on his work.

Quatre's eyes widened in disbelief. He turned around, peering over the seat at Heero. "You're pulling my leg," he accused, trying not to sound hopeful.

Heero glanced at him. "I saw him looking at you at the bar last night," he partially lied. He had seen Trowa giving Quatre just one strange look that he couldn't quite put his finger on the meaning of. Maybe he wasn't completely off-base. Then again, maybe he was. "Hey, don't tell him I said anything, alright? If I'm wrong, he could get pissed."

"I won't say anything," Quatre reassured him, stepping out of the jeep. "I think we're done here. There's not much we can really do, anyway."

Heero jumped out the back of the jeep and followed him inside. Trowa was awake, sitting in the recliner in the living room, the plastic orange juice jug in his lap. "I was wondering where you two went off to," he said casually, giving them a suspicious look.

"My jeep got rained on," Quatre said, slumping into the couch. "Whole damn thing, just full of water."

Heero walked past them to Duo's room, hearing Trowa say, "That's too bad." He pushed open the door. Duo was still asleep, snoring, sprawled out on the mattress. Heero nudged him with his boot. He hadn't even bothered to take his shoes off before bed.

Duo stirred and opened his eyes, rubbing one of them as he looked up at Heero. "Mwha? What is it?"

Heero sat down on the floor in front of him. "I smoked some of your stuff," he said plainly. Duo didn't seem to be awake enough to react. "I'll pay you back."

Duo nodded and rolled onto his side, facing away from Heero and pulling the blanket up over his head. Heero checked the clock beside the bed and poked Duo in the back. "It's already noon."

The lump of blanket and hair grunted. Heero stared at the end of his braid, sticking out from under the blanket. He picked it up and leaned in to look closer. It had split-ends and was dry as hell. He gave it a light pull. It made Duo roll over and glare at him, pulling it away. "You should get up."

Duo slowly sat up, arching his back and yawning. Heero leaned in a little bit, lowering his voice as if it would be a big deal if anyone heard him. "Who do you buy from, anyway?"

Duo gave him a half-hearted grin. "Why? You want some?" Heero shrugged. "You can buy some offa me if you want."

"Oh, you sell?"

"Sometimes. When I'm running low on cash. Whaddaya want? Dime bag?"

"Guess so," Heero said.

Duo pointed at a small cardboard box in the corner of his room, yawning. Heero got it and brought it over, then took out his wallet. Duo handed over a small plastic bag. Heero handed over the money and put the bag in his pocket.

"I didn't know you were much of a smoker," Duo said, putting the lid back on the box and shoving it aside.

"I'm not," Heero lied. He didn't even realize that already, just with one use, one night, his body was falling back into old habits. Or maybe he did realize it, and simply didn't care. How could one care about something like that when being sober made life seem ten times worse?

Duo grabbed a shirt off the floor and slipped it on. Heero left the room. Trowa was behind the television, inspecting things with a flashlight. Heero gave Quatre a questioning look. "He thinks the tv got fried by lightning or something. I'm telling you, Trowa, if lightning had caused it, it probably would have fried the lamp that's plugged into that outlet."

Trowa sat back on the balls of his feet. "Yeah, I guess you're right. This thing was a piece of crap, anyway."

Duo came out of the room and opened the fridge. "Man, what happened to the O.J.?"

"Heero drank it all," Trowa lied, smirking.

The short brunette gave him an annoyed look. "I did not."

"Alright, jerks, that settles it," Duo said, closing the refrigerator door. "We're going out for breakfast."

"My car's soaked," Quatre said blankly.

"We'll hoof it, then." Duo went back to his room to get dressed. Trowa shrugged and did the same. Heero sat down on the sofa next to Quatre.

"Is this what you guys do every weekend?" he asked monotonously.

Quatre grinned. "Yeah, pretty much. Sometimes we get even more trashed, though," he said playfully. "Why? What did you used to do with your friends back home?"

Heero's eyebrows lowered, not-so-fond memories racing through his mind. "Nothing, really. Just hung out."

*^*^*^*^*^*

TBC...


End file.
